After locating Low & Broad Benchmarks, we decided to make it a trifecta and bag Jet Benchmark. At the Black Rock exit off I-15 we took a dirt road heading west towards the Virgin River Gorge for about .5 of a mile and parked at the overhead power lines. We certainly could have driven further (the road ends at a corral) and cut the hiking distance considerably, but we felt like getting some exercise and ended up making this about a three-mile roundtrip excursion. This actually turned out to be a fun adventure even though we climbed the wrong hill and had to traverse along the ridgeline for an additional quarter mile to reach Jet Benchmark.
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We're a couple miles west of Broad Benchmark on our way to Jet Benchmark (slightly right of center) . . .
We decided to walk rather than coat the underside of our truck with mud |
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| Even though Redstem Filaree is an invasive weed, it has some really pretty flowers |
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Never walk too close to a cholla cactus . . . They are called jumping cactus for good reason
Even a slight tap and you will feel the pain as the spines cling to your clothing or skin . . . ouch!
Just ask Allison!
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| According to the GPS coordinates, Jet Benchmark should be on top of this rocky hill |
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| Fremont's Phacelia blooms March through June |
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| Desert Globemallow were blooming on the southeast facing slope |
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| There were several seashell fossils embedded in the limestone that made up the cliff layers |
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Well, guess what?
Jet Benchmark was not on top of the hill . . . Kent said we had another .25 miles to go!
(It ended up being on the peak in the center of the picture) |
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| More interesting rocks and another seashell fossil |
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| Finally! Jet Benchmark (Along with its two Reference Markers) |
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Jet Benchmark was placed here in 1962
It is labeled as a Traverse Station . . . we've never seen one like this before! |
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Now we are heading down to locate the Azimuth mark . . . hmm
I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge was competed in 1973, eleven years after the surveyors placed the Azimuth Mark. GPS coordinates show it located between the north & southbound lanes . . .
You guessed it, we didn't find it! |
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| Looking back up . . . it was a steep rocky descent |
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| If only this old rusty can could talk . . . |
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As you can see, Jet Benchmark really wasn't where we thought it should be,
but that's okay, it made for an enjoyable hike! |
What a fun half day of hiking! Not only did we recover three benchmarks, we also got Mike intrigued with the fun of researching and learning the history of how the surveyors placed their benchmarks, reference marks and azimuths for these shiny disks. Now Mike wants to understand the "madness" as to how they decided where they were going to place them . . . good luck, Mike . . . we still haven't figured that one out!
